One of
the most consequential
crimes in American history
occurred on a summer day in 1844 when a
mob stormed a jail in Carthage,
Illinois and murdered Joseph Smith
and his
brother, Hyrum. The killing of
Joseph Smith, the charismatic
founding
prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, America's
most important
homegrown religion, led to a schism
among Mormons and the trek west to
Utah of Brigham Young and his
followers. The story of the 1844
murders
and the trial that followed is much less
known than it deserves to
be--largely owing to the
over-sensitivity of American textbook
writers
on all matters religious. Events
so pivotal in the history
of the Mormon Church,
which today boasts a worldwide
membership of....